On the fifteenth of loyalty, Brother Diaz finds himself desperately late for an audience with the Pope, trapped in a carriage crawling through the chaotic streets of the Holy City. Despite allowing five hours for the journey, he's caught in overwhelming crowds that have descended on the city for Saint Aelfric's Day, when the saint's gout-curing relics are displayed at the Church of the Immaculate Appeasement. The streets teem with an impossible density of pilgrims, flagellants, prostitutes, merchants, beggars, livestock, and all manner of humanity, while bells from competing churches create a discordant cacophony as they vie for worshippers and donations.
Brother Diaz, who prides himself on punctuality, grows increasingly frantic as the carriage lurches and stalls repeatedly. The driver offers no hope, noting that "it's Saint Aelfric's day everywhere" and that "only madmen make promises" in the Holy City. Brother Diaz reflects bitterly on all his scheming and ambition that brought him this prestigious summons—undermining fellow monks, managing the abbot's affairs, and bragging about his bright future—only to see his dreams die in a squalid square. The Holy City proves both blessed and sordid, filled with licensed beggars, public punishments, and children gleefully burning elf effigies while crowds applaud.
In desperation, Brother Diaz turns to prayer, gripping the antique silver vial he wears around his neck and appealing to St. Beatrix, guardian of the Saviour's sandal. He begs to reach his audience with the Pope on time, though he immediately regrets swearing during his prayer. His appeal to divine intervention ends abruptly when something strikes the carriage roof with an almighty thud, violently jolting the vehicle and flinging Brother Diaz forward into the seat, cutting short his despairing cry.
The chapter vividly establishes the paradoxical nature of the Holy City—simultaneously the blessed heart of the Church and a den of vice, commerce, and chaos. Through Brother Diaz's mounting panic and the overwhelming sensory details of the streets, themes of ambition, faith, hypocrisy, and the gap between religious ideals and earthly reality emerge, while the abrupt ending suggests his troubles are far from over.
Chapter 4: How It Goes
Alex's morning begins in chaos as she botches an escape from a carriage, twisting her ankle and tumbling into the gutter after bouncing off a donkey. Feeling sick and desperate, she steals a prayer cloth and tries to blend in with the penitents flooding the holy city streets. Despite her efforts at disguise, she's soon spotted and pursued through the crowded fish market in the shadow of the pale sisters. After a violent confrontation involving fish stalls, hot oil, and a frying pan used as a weapon, Alex is cornered in a dead-end alley by Bostro, Papa Collini's debt collector, and his thugs.
The confrontation quickly turns brutal as Alex's desperate attempts at negotiation fail. She owes money for a debt she took on against Papa Collini's advice, and time has run out. Her various schemes to buy more time, including fake saint's relics made from filed dog bones, fall flat with the experienced collectors. After a punch to the gut leaves her helpless, Bostro produces iron pincers and forces her to choose between losing her teeth or her fingers. Alex, who has been playing for time for weeks and is now down to moments, faces the grim reality that her usual scrappy survival tactics have finally failed her.
At the last possible moment, a tall stranger in expensive silk robes intervenes, introducing himself as Duke Michael of Nicaea. He identifies Alex by a birthmark beneath her ear and makes an astonishing claim: she is Princess Alexia Pyrogenitus, the long-lost daughter of Empress Irene and rightful heir to the serpent throne of Troy. Even Bostro, who has heard every excuse imaginable, is stunned by this revelation. When the thugs refuse to release Alex, the Duke's servant produces a large, battle-worn sword, and the Duke makes it clear that the coins he's tossed on the ground represent what their lives are worth if they don't comply.
The chapter showcases Alex's resourcefulness and fighting spirit in the face of impossible odds, set against the vivid backdrop of a crowded, chaotic holy city filled with pilgrims, merchants, and danger. Her established pattern of starting evenings looking for fun and ending mornings begging forgiveness has finally caught up with her, but an unexpected twist of fate offers a dramatic escape from her street life and debts. The revelation of her royal heritage transforms her from a cornered con artist into someone of unexpected value and importance.
Chapter 5: The Thirteenth Virtue
The Thirteenth Virtue - Chapter Summary
Brother Eduardo Diaz arrives at the Celestial Palace in the Holy City in a state of sweaty panic, having rushed through crowds celebrating yet another saint's day. Expecting to meet the Pope for a routine assignment, he is surprised to learn he will instead meet Cardinal Zizka, the powerful head of the earthly Curia who controls the Church's vast bureaucracy and revenues. This unexpected development initially raises his hopes that his administrative talents are finally being recognized for something significant.
In Cardinal Zizka's cramped, paperwork-filled office, Brother Diaz's optimism quickly turns to alarm as the Cardinal outlines the dire threats facing the Church: the Eastern-Western schism, squabbling European princes, an infestation of monsters and practitioners of black magic, demonic powers, and the looming threat of the elves returning from the Holy Land. The Cardinal reveals that in such desperate times, moral restraint would be "craven dereliction of holy duty," and introduces Diaz to two unsettling companions: Yakob of Thorn, a scarred knight-templar whose face looks like he "spent half a century falling down a mountain made of axes," and Baptiste, a flamboyant woman with gold teeth and scars who describes herself as having "assisted several former vicars" in whatever way "was expedient."
Cardinal Zizka then drops a bombshell: Brother Diaz has been selected by Her Holiness to become the vicar of the Chapel of the Holy Expediency, a thirteenth chapel hidden within the Palace that operates beyond the Church's public virtues. This secret congregation undertakes tasks and uses methods "to which the faithful and unimpeachable are not suited," essentially weaponizing the Church's enemies against themselves. Despite Diaz's protests that his expertise lies only in bureaucracy and library organization, the Cardinal insists this is a great opportunity to "do good" in the Church's existential war. Brother Diaz reluctantly accepts, though he has no idea what he's gotten into, only a growing sense that it involves using devils to fight devils—and that it may already be too late to escape.
Chapter 6: This Much Luck
Alex stands in a room high above the holy city, transformed from the street thief she once was. Nuns have bathed and dressed her in luxurious robes with silver-stitched saints and warm fur collars, leaving her barely recognizing her own clean reflection. From her window, she looks down on a city of contrasts: beautiful hilltop palaces and gardens dissolving into slum roofs in the valleys, all built on ancient ruins. The twin bell towers called the Pale Sisters clang out over the masses struggling below, a world that now seems distant from her elevated position. Despite her cleaned appearance, Alex's instincts remain those of a thief, her fingers itching toward the silver and amber comb left by the nuns.
Duke Michael arrives and reveals a stunning truth: Alex is actually Princess Alexia, granddaughter of Empress Theodosia the Blessed of the Empire of the East. He explains that Alex's mother, Irene, was murdered by her own sister Eudoxia in a coup that sparked civil war. As an infant, Alex was spirited away to the Holy City for protection but was lost along the way. Michael proves their connection through matching half-coins on chains they each wear, cut from a single coin given to Alex when she left Troy. He tells her that Eudoxia has recently died, possibly from poison or a failed sorcery experiment, leaving the Serpent Throne of Troy empty. Michael wants Alex to return and claim her rightful place as Empress.
Alex struggles to process this revelation, torn between her street-honed instincts that scream this is too good to be true and the undeniable evidence before her. Michael describes the wonders of Troy: the great pillar with its Hanging Gardens, the Basilica filled with crusade relics, and the Pharos lighthouse crowned with Saint Natalia's Flame. He promises to guide her every step of the way, expressing genuine emotion about finally finding his lost niece. Alex performs her own tears and shy smiles, unsure where her act ends and genuine feeling begins.
Alone again, Alex considers her limited options. She owes crushing debts to Papa Collini, the Queen of Clubs, and Little Suze, each ready to maim her for payment. Whatever doubts she has about being a princess, this opportunity has arrived at the perfect moment. She decides to play along, extract what she can from this situation, and escape when trouble appears, finding a new identity elsewhere. Following the cynical wisdom of Gal the Purse, she views Duke Michael as a stepping-stone to something better. As she looks down on the distant slums below, wrapped in luxury and grinning at her good fortune, she slips the silver comb up her sleeve—just to be on the safe side.
Chapter 7: A Flock of Black Sheep
Brother Diaz is introduced to his new position as vicar of the Chapel of the Holy Expediency, a magnificent sanctuary within the Celestial Palace adorned with varicolored marble, paintings of saints, and gem-studded scriptures. His initial pride and satisfaction quickly fade when Baptiste and Jakob of Thorn reveal that his true duties lie not in the beautiful chapel above, but in the ancient dungeons beneath it. They descend through layers of history, from dressed masonry to the seamless grey stone of the witch-engineers' tunnels, entering a prison complex built by the ancient city of Carthage long before it became the Holy City.
Brother Diaz meets his unusual congregation, a collection of supernatural prisoners held in iron-barred cells. First is Balthazar Sham-Ivan Draksi, a naked magician kept unclothed to prevent him from using dirt to write spells on his clothing. Next is Sonny, an elf with an unnaturally narrow face and impossibly large eyes who has the unnerving ability to become nearly invisible even in plain sight. The third prisoner is Baron Ricard, an ancient vampire with cultured manners and hypnotic powers who nearly entrances Brother Diaz into offering his arm through the bars before Jakob intervenes. A fourth empty cell shows evidence of an even more dangerous occupant who has been moved to more secure lodgings due to "unacceptable behavior."
The new vicar learns that these prisoners, despite being convicted of various crimes against the Church, have been given a chance at redemption through service to Her Holiness, performing tasks that those upstairs will not contemplate. Baptiste and Jakob warn Brother Diaz to keep his distance from the bars, trust nothing the prisoners say, and avoid being too dogmatic in his approach. The chapter concludes with the revelation that his predecessor, Mother Ferrara, a rigid woman full of faith and zeal, died under the extreme pressures of the position. This grim news leaves Brother Diaz horrified and overwhelmed, realizing he has been thrust into a role far removed from his simple monastery life of library work, accounting, and herb gardening.
Chapter 8: Born in the Flame
Alex, a street thief plagued by doubts about her assumed identity as a lost princess, is led through the Celestial Palace by Cardinal Bock and Duke Michael to undergo a mystical verification ceremony. In a heavily guarded, ritual chamber sealed with nine seals, two starved oracle prisoners in chains grasp Alex's hands and begin prophesying. They speak of the Pillar of Troy, trials and tests ahead, and cryptically proclaim "Born in the flame! Pyrogenitus!" before their hands burn hot enough to char their blindfolds. Cardinal Bock officially certifies Alex as Princess Alexia Pyrogenitus, the rightful heir to the serpent throne of Troy, stating she was born in the imperial bedchamber beneath Saint Natalia's flame—the ultimate mark of legitimacy.
Later, at a dinner with Cardinal Zizka and Duke Michael, Alex learns the full scope of the danger ahead. She discovers she has four cousins—Marcian, Constans, Sabbas, and Arcadius—sons of the usurper Eudoxia who murdered Alex's supposed mother. These dukes are powerful men with armies, spies, and assassins at their command, all vying for the throne. More disturbing still, Alex learns that Eudoxia was a sorceress who performed grotesque experiments combining human and animal flesh in an attempt to capture and enslave human souls, founding a coven that practiced black magic openly in Troy. Her sons are rumored to continue trafficking with devils and forbidden magic.
Despite Alex's protests that she knows nothing about being a princess and is terrified of facing enemies with such power, Cardinal Zizka and Duke Michael insist the plan will proceed. They assure her she has advantages: the element of surprise since no one knows she's alive, Duke Michael's military prowess, the backing of the Pope and the Church, and most importantly, legitimacy—the "right" to rule as confirmed by God through the oracles. Alex will travel the nearly thousand miles to Troy in secret with a hand-picked group, while copies of the papal bull confirming her identity will be circulated just before her arrival.
The chapter closes with Alex's growing realization of how deeply she's been drawn into a deadly game. She's trapped between accepting her role or facing certain death, caught in a power struggle involving sorcery, stolen souls, and demonic forces. When she protests that her enemies have devils on their side, Cardinal Zizka smiles coldly and replies, "But we have devils of our own," suggesting the Church's methods may be as dark as those they oppose.
Chapter 9: The Start of a Bad Joke
Balthasar Shamivam Draksi, a proud necromancer who once dubbed himself the "Terror of Damietta," finds himself in humiliating servitude as part of the Chapel of the Holy Expediency. Forced to choose between burning at the stake or serving the Church, he now deeply regrets his decision as he shares quarters with an assemblage of misfits: Baron Ricard, an ancient and decrepit vampire; a nervous, twitching elf; their stern jailer Yakob of Thorn; and Brother Diaz, a perpetually panicked young priest. The situation is made worse by his wretched living conditions—a ghastly mattress, dreadful food, frigid damp, and worst of all, the loss of his beloved books. As Balthasar wallows in his contempt for his circumstances and companions, he spots an opportunity when a blank scrap of paper falls near his foot during a chaotic papal visit.
The ten-year-old Child Pope Benedict I arrives with her entourage of zealous acolytes and two cardinals—the tall and graceful Zizka, head of the earthly Curia, and the shorter, more pragmatic Bock, conductor of the Celestial Choir. Despite being celebrated as the greatest arcane power born in centuries, the young Pope seems more interested in the peacock gift from the Frankish Ambassador than in the binding ceremony. She reveals their mission: to escort the long-lost Princess Alexia Pyrogenitus to Troy and see her enthroned as Empress of the East. The princess herself appears as an unglamorous, sickly waif hiding among the acolytes, adding to Balthasar's disbelief at the absurdity of the entire endeavor.
The binding ceremony itself proves to be shockingly simple—just a careless line of red ink drawn across each member's wrist by the Pope's finger, with no elaborate runes or incantations. Cardinal Bock improvises the verbal component on the spot, requiring them to escort Princess Alexia to Troy, obey Brother Diaz, and return afterward, with the childish addition to "be nice to each other." Balthasar is simultaneously delighted and affronted by what he perceives as an amateurish binding that he assumes he can easily escape. He begins plotting his revenge against those who imprisoned him, imagining their faces when they discover his escape.
However, when Balthasar mentally refuses to participate in the mission to Troy, he is suddenly and violently sick, vomiting across the floor in an agonizing display. The elf matter-of-factly informs him that this is how the binding works, revealing that despite its deceptively simple appearance, the papal binding is far more effective than the arrogant necromancer anticipated. Balthasar's plans for escape are crushed as he realizes he is truly bound to this seemingly impossible quest with his motley crew of companions.
Chapter 10: Hold on to Something
Chapter 10: Hold on to Something - Summary
Alex, a street swindler unexpectedly thrust into the role of Princess Alexia Pyrogenitus, travels by convoy toward Troy with Duke Michael and a peculiar group of companions. Struggling with her new identity and deeply uncomfortable riding sidesaddle on a horse, Alex worries about the armed papal guards surrounding her while trying to convince herself she can play the part of a princess. She strikes up a friendship with Sunny (Sunnethillion Darktooth), an elf who was previously exhibited in a circus, and the two bond over their shared experiences as outcasts and performers of unwanted roles. Meanwhile, the necromancer Balthasar obsessively studies the papal binding on his wrist that prevents him from harming the princess, suffering constant nausea and vomiting whenever he contemplates escape or violence against her.
The convoy includes an eclectic group: Duke Michael leading at the front alongside Brother Diaz (a reluctant monk plagued by mouth ulcers), the grim knight Yakov of Thorn, the smirking Baptiste, and the ancient vampire Baron Ricard who lounges atop a mysterious locked wagon. Each character clings to something for stability in uncertain circumstances - Alex to her street smarts, Balthasar to his magical knowledge, and Brother Diaz to his wavering faith. The vampire cryptically reveals that a previous sorceress died trying to break the papal binding, deepening the mystery of its power and suggesting it was created by the formidable young Pope Benedictus herself.
The journey takes a violent turn when Sunny warns that three or four dozen riders are following them. The convoy rushes toward a walled inn called the Rolling Bear for defensive refuge, but they come under attack from mysterious pursuers wearing horned helmets. Arrows fly from the trees, killing the wagon driver and several guards. In the chaos, Balthasar desperately attempts to break his binding using makeshift magic - a circle drawn in his own excrement on a stolen prayer sheet - but fails spectacularly, vomiting violently just as the attack intensifies.
The chapter culminates in a harrowing sequence as the driverless wagon careens toward the inn at breakneck speed. Baron Ricard seizes the brake with supernatural strength while Balthasar clings to the reins in terror. The wagon crashes through the gateway, horses tangling and falling, before the unstoppable vehicle charges directly at the inn's wall. The chapter ends on a cliffhanger with Balthasar flying through the air after being thrown from the driver's seat, the repeated refrain "hold on to something" proving both literal and metaphorical as each character faces their moment of crisis.
Chapter 11: No Room at the Inn
The chapter opens with Yakov of Thorn, a battle-scarred veteran, rallying the defenses of a dilapidated inn under sudden attack. His company has crashed through the gates in a desperate wagon accident, and now they find themselves besieged by mysterious pursuers. Despite his aging, broken body that can barely dismount a horse, Yakov's commanding presence and decades of military experience take over as he organizes the panicked guards, positioning archers on the walls and assessing their weak defensive position. The old warrior draws on memories of past sieges and battles, particularly recalling the wisdom of his old enemy Han ibn Qazi about knowing the ground where you make your stand. He rallies Princess Alexia and Duke Michael, while Baptiste reports ominously that their pursuers may not be men at all.
The attack begins in earnest as inhuman creatures assault the walls. The defenders face fox-headed warriors, a rabbit-legged archer woman, and a massive horned beast wielding armor and weapons. One fox-man breaches the walls and nearly kills Princess Alexia before Duke Michael intervenes, killing the creature with expert swordsmanship. The guards suffer casualties as arrows strike them down and the monstrous attackers overwhelm their defenses. The inexperienced captain and his young guards struggle to maintain composure as their blessed surcoats and faith offer little protection against these unnatural enemies. The gates begin to splinter under the assault of what appears to be a goat-headed monstrosity wielding a massive club.
Meanwhile, Duke Michael attempts to evacuate Alexia through the inn's back door, accompanied by his servant Eusebius and two guards. Before they can escape, a tall sorceress in robes stitched with mystical symbols bursts through the door in a display of devastating power. She sets the room ablaze with magic, immolating the guards in flames so intense their armor glows like molten metal. The serving girl and others are consumed by fire as Alexia scrambles backward in terror, clutching a jeweled dagger her uncle gave her but too paralyzed with fear to use it. The sorceress advances on the princess with a knowing smile.
As the chapter closes, Brother Diaz kneels in the muddy courtyard, praying with newfound desperation and sincerity unlike his previous rote recitations at the monastery. He clutches both his holy circle and a vial of St. Beatrix's sacred blood, witnessing the nightmarish creatures that contradict everything he knows about God's creation. The gates finally give way, and Yakov stands defiant in the gateway, facing down a towering goat-headed beast that releases an earth-shaking bleat. The chapter captures themes of courage in the face of overwhelming supernatural evil, the failure of faith and preparation against true horror, and the thin line between survival and annihilation as the defenders face enemies beyond their understanding.
Chapter 12: Wrath
Chapter 12: Wrath - Summary
The chapter opens with Balthasar regaining consciousness in a burning inn, his body aching from the ambush that interrupted their journey. He discovers Princess Alexia under attack from a powerful pyromancer, one of Empress Eudoxia's mentees. Despite his desperate wish to avoid danger, the papal binding compels Balthasar to protect the princess. Using a makeshift prayer sheet drawn in excrement, he manages to temporarily deflect the sorceress's flames, though the charm quickly fails. When the sorceress presses her attack, Balthasar resorts to his specialty: necromancy. He animates the charred corpses of guards, the innkeeper, and a serving girl, orchestrating them in a macabre battle that culminates with the innkeeper crushing the sorceress's skull with a beer barrel. Balthasar's pride in his abilities shines through even in this desperate situation, as he declares that if anyone kills the princess, it will be him alone.
Meanwhile, outside in the inn's courtyard, the veteran knight Yakov of Thorn faces an onslaught of grotesque beast-men—creatures with mixed human and animal features created by the Empress. With characteristic skill and determination, Yakov fights through goat-giants, hound-men, and ram-horned warriors, using his shield and sword with brutal efficiency. His companion Baptiste fights alongside him, but the situation quickly deteriorates as the walls fall and their forces are overwhelmed. Wounded by arrows and recognizing a lost cause, Yakov makes a desperate decision to unlock the mysterious wagon they've been transporting. Before he can complete this act, Duke Marcion—the Empress Eudoxia's youngest son leading the beast-men—runs him through with a jeweled sword, leaving the old knight dying in the mud.
Duke Marcion confronts Princess Alexia, revealing that he possesses one of the secret papal bulls confirming her identity as the rightful heir to the serpent throne of Troy. Despite Alexia's pathetic attempts to deny her heritage and beg for her life—claiming she's merely a thief and con artist who sells fake relics—Marcion prepares to execute her to eliminate a rival to the throne. At the last moment, Brother Diaz intervenes, creating a distraction that allows the mysterious Sunny to appear from thin air, unlock the wagon, and vanish again. The wagon's back opens to reveal something monstrous contained within—a creature that emerges with a blood-chilling howl and immediately tears apart one of the beast-men in a savage display of violence. The chapter ends on this cliffhanger, with the mysterious beast now loose and the fate of all present hanging in the balance, demonstrating how the attempt to transport Alexia safely to claim her throne has descended into a nightmare of fire, blood, and unleashed horror.
Chapter 13: The Good Meat
Chapter 13: The Good Meat - Summary
The Vega-wolf is unleashed from her wagon and wreaks havoc in a brutal, savage attack at an inn yard. In her monstrous wolf form, she tears through guards and animal-headed creatures with terrifying ferocity, driven by an insatiable hunger for "the good meat." Her rampage is visceral and chaotic as she kills a bull-headed man, a pig-headed woman, a horse, and numerous others, ripping them apart with her claws and jaws. Despite consuming their flesh, she finds only disappointment - none of them contain the mysterious "good meat" she craves. Her rage and frustration intensify as she destroys everything in her path, including a knight in shining armor whose skull she crushes like a nut.
The attack climaxes when the Vega-wolf approaches Brother Diaz and Princess Alexia, who are frozen in terror as she prowls toward them. Just as death seems certain, Jakob of Thorn intervenes - impossibly still alive despite the mortal wounds and arrows protruding from his body. He scolds the beast by name ("Riga!") like a stern schoolmaster, causing her to retreat. The monstrous wolf form begins to recede, revealing a tall, muscular, naked woman covered in blood and mud, her skin marked with tattooed warnings in multiple languages including "beware" and "caution."
The transformation complete, Riga becomes almost childlike, complaining that she's thirsty, has blood up her nose, and hurt her hand. She vomits up the remains of her victims, realizing she ate "bad meat" - the metal armor mixed with flesh. Baron Ricard emerges from the inn looking remarkably younger and rejuvenated, calmly explaining to the shocked Brother Diaz that Riga is a "proper Norse blood-and-lightning werewolf," not one of the lesser German varieties. An elf companion casually remarks that for the Chapel of the Holy Expediency, such carnage is unremarkable. When Brother Diaz asks if this is a typical day, Baron Ricard dryly responds that it's "not untypical," leaving the priest to grapple with the horrifying reality of his new companions.
This chapter reveals the true supernatural nature of Jakob's companions and establishes the extreme violence and otherworldly dangers that surround their mission. The juxtaposition of Riga's terrifying bestial form with her vulnerable human state, combined with Jakob's impossible resurrection and Ricard's vampiric rejuvenation, emphasizes the dark and supernatural world these characters inhabit.
Chapter 14: Empress or Death
In the aftermath of a devastating massacre at a roadside inn, Alex sits among the muddy corpses, having swapped clothes with a dead servant girl to make would-be assassins believe she is dead. The surviving members of her escort tend to their wounds in the rain-soaked courtyard. Baptiste, a former mercenary company barber, extracts arrows from Bob of Thorn, a knight cursed by a witch to be unable to die, while Brother Diaz clutches his holy circle in horror. A naked, tattooed werewolf named Vega washes blood from her body by the well, having been responsible for much of the carnage that saved Alex's life. Duke Michael is badly injured with a broken leg, and Balthazar the magician brags about defeating a pyromancer from Eudoxia's coven who attacked them.
The group discovers that someone in the Celestial Palace may have betrayed their location, as the attack suggests their secret mission has been compromised. Duke Michael insists that Alex cannot return to the Holy City and must continue to Troy, where she will be safe only once she claims the serpent's throne as empress. Despite his injuries, he sends the princess forward with the remaining survivors while he returns to the Holy City with the lone surviving guard and stable boy. He promises that his trusted friend Lady Sevra will be waiting for Alex in Troy.
Alex, who has been uncontrollably crying throughout the ordeal, experiences a surge of defiant courage and declares her intention to continue to Troy despite the dangers. The unlikely band of survivors - including a vampire (Baron Ricard), an elf (Sunny), a werewolf (Vega), an immortal knight (Bob of Thorn), a magician (Balthazar), a reluctant monk (Brother Diaz), and Baptiste - prepare to escort her on the perilous journey. As the sun breaks through the clouds over the scene of slaughter, Alex realizes she has narrowed her choices to two stark options: become empress or die. Though she immediately regrets her bold declaration, she knows she is now committed to seeing it through, trapped between her survival instincts and the loyalty she feels toward those who have saved her life.